


In Which Peter Parker Adopts a Younger Version of Himself

by slightly_salty_ace



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Avengers - Freeform, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Peter is doing his best, Torture, at times - Freeform, someone help these boys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-09 12:05:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11668776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightly_salty_ace/pseuds/slightly_salty_ace
Summary: After meddling with some alien tech, Tony and Peter get blasted into an alternate dimension. One where Tony is married to Steve and is Spider-man's biological father. And Deadpool is dating an older version of Peter?Things go from strange to down right dangerous when Tony finds out that his alternate self is on the FBI's most wanted list.Peter just wants to get home before his Spanish quiz on Monday.





	1. A whole new world

_**BOOM** _

White light engulfed Tony's lab. Peter had found some suspicious alien tech while on patrol and had brought it straight to Tony. Well, not straight to him. He had shown it to Ned first, then brought it to Tony the next day. Tony didn't need to know that, though. It was some type of glowing blue orb with intricate patterns carved into its metal shell. Tony and Peter had been messing with it for only an hour before the thing detonated. Or rather, it exploded when Tony hit it with a hammer. The light was so intense it causes him to pass out.

When he came to, he found himself lying in a crater in the middle of the street. "What the fuck?" His entire body ached as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Stark Tower stood a few blocks away. How did he get here? A small crowd of people was gathered around the crater.

"Is that Tony Stark?" One of them gasped.

"Where'd he come from?"

"How's he not dead?"

The crowd suddenly parted like the red sea. Captain America strode towards him, head held high. Spider-man followed close behind, clad in a black suit. Tony blinked at the two men that now stood before him. Key word being men. Last time he checked, Spider-man was a fifteen-year-old kid. This Spider-man had the physique of a full grown man, standing nearly as tall as the Captain.

"What's the meaning of this?" Steve demanded, glaring at Tony as he stumbled his way out of the crater.

"Okay, so I might have done some experimenting with some alien tech. And it might have blown up. But the tower still looks like it's in one piece. Must have just teleported me..." Tony muttered, dusting off his shirt. "Normal Tuesday, ya know?"

"Who are you?" Steve snarled, causing Tony to take several steps back. He had never heard his friend this angry.

"Um, Tony Stark? Your pal? Your buddy? Son of the guy that made the shield you're holding?" The words tumbled out of Tony's mouth. He could hear the crowd whispering.

"I find that very hard to believe. Spidey, cuff him." Steve ordered.

"Hey, wait, what-" Before Tony knew what was happening, Spider-man had darted behind him and webbed his wrists together. The web slinger shoved him towards Steve.

Steve put two fingers to the communicator in his ear, "yeah, we have him. Bringing him up now." He lowered his hand and addressed Tony, "come with us."

Tony gulped as did as he was told, knowing full well that both men could kill him with one punch if they so desired. Steve grabbed Tony by the upper arm and marched him back to the tower. Once they were inside the lobby Steve spoke again, "who are you?"

"Tony Stark."

Spider-man bristled.

"Liar-" Steve started but was cut off by Bruce, who had just entered the room.

"He's telling the truth," Banner spoke in his usual calm voice. "He's from another dimension. I'm the one who brought him here."

"Why on god's green earth would you do that?" Steve frowned. "One Stark is bad enough."

"We need to find Tony. And who's better suited for that task than Tony himself?"

"You're mad, Banner. We don't know anything about this Tony, what if he-"

"He's a good guy. Trust me, Steve. I know what I'm doing," Bruce took off his glasses and looked Steve dead in the eye. "This Tony is good. I spoke with his dimension's Steve to make sure."

"Capsicle is in on this?!" Tony shouted, making Spider-man flinch. Tony lowered his voice to a whisper, "that son of a bitch..."

Bruce took a vial of solvent out of his pocket and freed Tony's webbed up hands, "the rest of the team should be here soon. We can explain the current situation to Stark #2, here-"

"Why am I Stark #2?" Tony huffed.

Bruce ignored him, "for now, why don't you take him up to the meeting room? I'll be right up. Just need to check on a few things." Banner wandered off before anyone could object.

"Fine, fine, fine..." Steve drug Tony to the elevator. Spider-man stood off to the side, his back to them as he looked out the elevator window. He still hadn't said a single word to Tony.

"So, how's it going Spidey? New suit I see. Love the black," Tony tried to break the tension.

Spider-man glanced over his shoulder but said nothing.

"I'm guessing you don't like me very much?" Tony chuckled.

Spider-man answered by turning his attention back to the window. The elevator abruptly stopped, pinging to alert them that they had made it to the desired floor.

"I don't think Spider-man likes anyone very much," Steve said, letting the wall crawler go ahead of them. "You should stop trying to be friendly with him before he lashes out."

"Damn. The Spider-man back home is much friendlier. Always trying to be buddy buddy with everyone, even the bad guys. Couldn't shut up to save his life, either." Tony fell into step next to the Captain. "Speaking of which..." Tony trailed off. Peter had been standing right next to him when the orb exploded. So where was he now? He had to have been brought into this same dimension.

"Our Spider-man was like that once. But that was a long time ago." There was a distant, almost sad look in Steve's eyes.

"What happened?"

"Tony, our Tony, went mad. He...hurt Spider-man." Steve ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. He knew Spider-man was listening to their conversation, even if the web slinger pretended to ignore them. "He tortured him and ended up...cutting out his tongue."

Tony froze in his tracks, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. "You're not serious, are you?"

Spider-man turned to face them and started rolling up his mask.

"No, no, no! I don't need to see it! I believe you!" Tony waved his hands frantically.

Spider-man made a noise that might have been a chuckle and opened his jaw wide anyway. For a second time, Tony felt like he might be sick. Sure enough, Spidey's tongue was gone. Nothing but scarred tissue along the bottom of his mouth.

"Alright, Peter, that's enough." Steve forced the mask back over his mouth. "He likes grossing people out with it." He had seen it more times than he cared to admit. It still made him uneasy.

"Of course he does..."

Spidey turned on heel and continued walking.

"I'm surprised he's this calm around you," Steve murmured, following the younger man.

Tony hurried to catch up with the Captain. "Were they friends? Him and your Tony?"

"Tony is his biological father."

Tony tripped and nearly fell on his face, "I'm-he's-I'm-what?"

"I'm guessing you don't have a son," Steve chuckled.

"Well, I've been with a lot of women, so odds are there is a smaller me running around somewhere. But I can promise you that Spider-man is in no way related to me," Tony said quickly. He had only been in this dimension for maybe forty minutes and there was a lot of information to take in. "Anything else I ought to know about this other me?"

"Tony and I were married once upon a time before he lost it," Steve said. "Is that true for you as well?"

"No. I'm just friends with Cap. Pepper is my fiancee." Stark looked around them, taking in the tower for the first time. It looked exactly the same as the one back on his world. He wasn't even surprised when Spider-man opened the door to the conference room, located in the same place as he remembered it being.

"Spidey, keep an eye on him. I'm going to go talk to Bruce," Steve closed the door, leaving the two men alone.

Tony slowly looked over at Spider-man. The arachnid had his fists balled and his jaw tight. Despite wearing a mask, the anger was clear on his face.

"I'm sorry-"

Spider-man flipped him off with both hands.

"Why'd he go for the tongue?"

The mask shifted as Peter struggled to form words, "no more jokes." He finally said, the words slightly garbled.

"Damn. That's a bit harsh. Did your dad not know duct tape was a thing?"

"I hate you."

"I know, you've made that very clear, Peter. Here's another question. Why wear a mask around me?"

Once again, Spider-man was silent. He tilted his head and stared at Tony for a minute before tugging his mask off. The man underneath looked younger than Tony had originally thought. He still had the same round face and big doe eyes.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven."

"Liar."

"Twenty-one," Peter slurred. N's and T's were proving to be the most difficult sounds for him to make.

"How old were you when-"

"Sixteen."

"Jesus." Tony fell silent after that, opting to sit at the table and stare at the wall. Nearly twenty minutes went by before Tony spoke again, "Do you guys have shawarma in this dimension? I'm kinda hungry. Missed lunch."

Peter suddenly lashed out, grabbing Tony by the throat. "Stop. Talking. Or I will throw you out the nearest window. Got it?!" His eyes squinted with rage.

Tony nodded as much as he could with a hand wrapped around his jugular.

"Are you playing nice, babe?" A new voice asked from the doorway.

Peter's head snapped up at the sound.

"Let him go, he's not worth it," the person said. Peter let go of Tony, shoving him back in the process. Deadpool walked around to stand next to Spider-man. Deadpool's mask crinkled, betraying the smile beneath. "Hello, not evil Stark. I'm-"

"Deadpool," Tony gasped.

"Oh, so you've heard of me? I'm flattered."

"There's one of you on my world," Tony narrowed his eyes.

"I'm sure there is," Deadpool gently put his hands on Peter's shoulders, "I need you to sit down and take deep breaths, baby boy."

"No." Peter glared at Deadpool.

"It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" The merc sighed sadly. "Sorry, some days he gets really pissy." He had to use a bit of force to get Spider-man to sit down. "But hey, at least you got him to talk! Not many people can do that-"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here, Wade," Peter growled.

"Sorry, Petey." Wade kissed his forehead even though his mask was still on. "Oh, by the way, your number one fan is here to see you."

"What are you talking about?" Peter frowned, slipping his own mask back on.

Just then, Natasha marched into the room, dragging a much younger Spider-man behind her. This Natasha looked a bit older and had blond hair. Bruce followed them in, looking a bit worried.

"Mr. Stark! What's going on? Where are we? Who's that?" He pointed at the older version of himself. Spider-man jumped to his feet at the sight of his younger self, lenses wide.

"Aw, look at this little guy!" Wade pat the younger Peter on the head, "and he's wearing your old costume! How adorable," The merc tried to hug him, but Peter ducked out of the way, an action that led to Wade chasing the teen around the room.

"It's complicated, kid." Tony rubbed pinched the bridge of his nose. Peter ducked behind Tony's chair, desperate to get away from the overly friendly man in red leather.

"So he's with you?" Natasha frowned, then turned to Bruce, "you didn't tell me the plan involved another Spider-man."

"It didn't. I didn't expect the kid to be present when the portal opened." Bruce held up his hands.

"Send him back then," Tony snapped. He liked the kid, but he didn't want to babysit him. Or listen to his endless questions.

"I can't. I only created two portals. One to get you here and one to send you home. It took years to develop the two and it will take even more years to gather the resources for a third," Bruce explained.

"Great," Tony muttered.

"I can help. With whatever this mission is," Peter said.

"I know you can, but I'd rather not put you in danger," Tony responded. He didn't want to even think about what the other Tony Stark would do if he got ahold of the younger Peter.

Natasha smiled slyly, "actually, I think he could be quite helpful."

Tony's frown deepened, "I don't want him to be a part of this-"

"What you want doesn't matter. You're not in charge here." Natasha put her hands on her hips.

"Fine. Whatever," Tony twisted around in his chair to look Peter in the eye. At least, he assumed he was looking the boy in the eye. Hard to tell with the mask. "But if I tell you to run, you better run, got it?"

"Got it." Peter looked over his shoulder when he heard the door open.

Clint stepped into the room. He looked between the two Spideys. "Well. This will be interesting."

One by one, the rest of the Avengers showed up. Everyone gathered around the table, and after several awkward questions, Steve went about explaining the plan. With Tony offering his own insights on how to take down himself. It was decided that Steve, Tony, Deadpool and the two Spider-men would be the only ones actually on the mission. Everyone else was to remain on standby until their aid was needed. It was also decided that the younger of the two Spidey's would be referred to as Peter, and the older being called Parker. An idea brought on by Clint, after much confusion of who would be doing what. The team broke apart after everything was settled.

Banner took Tony and Peter to the room they would be staying in. There was only one bed, as they weren't planning on Peter being there. The teen offered to sleep on the floor, and Bruce went off to find extra pillows and blankets for him. Parker hovered in the doorway, his eyes trained on Stark.

"Peter, you'll be staying with Wade and me." He announced, the eye pieces on his mask narrowing. "We have a couch you can sleep on." This was the first time he had spoken since his discussion with Stark before the meeting. Peter was a little surprised to hear his voice, how garbled and forced it sounded.

"I'm fine sleeping on the floor, honest," Peter tugged off his mask and balled it up in his hands.

"I don't care. I will not allow you to be around Stark unsupervised." Parker practically hissed.

"I'm not gonna hurt the kid," Tony muttered, slinging an arm around Peter's shoulders.

Parker darted forward and shoved Tony away with one hand while pushing Peter protectively behind him with the other. "Don't touch him."

"Calm down. Jesus." Tony huffed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Listen, the kid is my responsibility. He needs to stay with me."

"Too bad. He's my responsibility now, Stark." Parker glared one last time at Tony before guiding Peter out of the room. Tony tried to follow, but Deadpool stepped in and closed the door in his face.

"Don't worry, kiddo. You're safe with us." Deadpool ruffled Peter's hair.

Peter looked between the two men nervously, "I was just as safe with Mr. Stark. I don't-"

"For now. How old are you?"

"Fifteen. Sixteen next week."

Parker and Deadpool exchanged looks. "Only a few months away," Wade whispered. Parker nodded sadly, tightening his grip on Peter's shoulder.

"Away from what?" Peter squirmed out of Parker's grip as he tried to ignore his growing apprehension.

"Should we tell him?" Deadpool frowned behind his mask. In the meeting they had discussed how to take down the other Stark, but not the reasons why they were doing so. Everyone except Peter knew the reasons, there was no need to go over them. Even though Peter did ask multiple times, all the adults ignored him.

Parker thought for a moment. "I don't know. His world is different from ours. His Stark might not snap-"

"He will. And you know it," Wade growled. "You can't trust a Stark. No matter what dimension."

Parker nodded slowly, "listen, Peter. I'll explain everything later. But for now, just know, you don't have to go back to your home world. You can stay with us, where you'll be safe."

Peter backed away. Deadpool side stepped to block his path. Peter gulped and looked up at the merc. "I-I can't. I have a Spanish quiz on Monday. Plus, Ned and I were going to marathon Star Wars this weekend..."

Parker smiled sadly, "Well, my offer still stands if you change your mind. For now, let's go get some dinner."


	2. Got You

**Five Years Ago**

_"Please stop touching everything," Tony snatched an Iron Man gauntlet from his son's hands._

_Peter stuck out his tongue, "you're no fun."_

_"I just don't want you accidentally blowing your head off." Tony's expression softened, "Steve will get mad."_

_Peter chuckled, "he's already mad that you made me the Spider-man suit." He pushed off the work bench, pulling his knees up so he could twirl his stool around._

_Tony groaned, "Don't remind me." He looked away from his son, the spinning making him dizzy. Steve was away on a mission and had been gone for well over a month. How he had found out about the Spidey suit was beyond Tony. But somehow he had, and that led to a very very pissed off Captain America calling Tony Stark at two in the morning. "You needed the suit, though. Can't believe you were crime fighting behind our backs...in fucking pajamas!"_

_Peter threw out his leg to stop the spinning, "they weren't pajamas!"_

_"Yes. They were."_

_Peter stuck out his tongue, "they still looked cool."_

_"I call bullshit."_

_"Langauge!"_

_Tony and Peter looked behind them to see Steve walking towards them. He had just returned from a mission and still wore his Captain America gear. "Welcome home, dear." Tony smiled lovingly at his husband._

_"Good to be home," Steve kissed his husband on the lips. Peter pretended to throw up. "You want a kiss too, tough guy?" Peter tried to run, but Steve grabbed him by the sleeve. "C'mere, Petey pie," Steve kissed the top of his head and wrapped him in a tight hug._

_"Daaaaad," Peter groaned, squirming in his step father's arms. Tony hid his laughter behind his hand. "Gross!" Peter complained when Steve kissed his head again._

_"Too bad." Steve ruffled Peter's hair. He pulled Tony into the hug and held both of his boys close. He had really missed his tiny family._

* * *

  
Wade took a spare blanket out from under the coffee table and tucked it around Peter's lanky form. He paused for a moment, looking at the boys face. He was so...young. The expression on Peter's face was so peaceful. Even when Parker slept, he was on edge. Wade didn't think his boyfriend would ever look that calm ever again. Maybe once Stark was brought down, Parker would finally be able to sleep through the night. Wade sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair out of Peter's face. He stayed by the boy's side a moment longer before returning to the kitchen, announcing in a soft voice, "he's asleep." Parker just nodded, focused on washing the dishes. Deadpool slipped his arms around his boyfriend's waist. "You did a lot of talking today."

Parker grunted.

"I'm proud of you," Wade kissed his cheek. There were times when Parker would go for months on end without uttering a single word. Mostly because it was so difficult to speak, but also because his depression got the better of him. Wade rested his chin on Parker's shoulder. "I wanna keep him. I don't want him to go back to his world. Not with what's about to happen to him."

Parker nodded in agreement. He set the last plate on the drying rack and pulled the plug on the sink. "It's his decision in the end. He's not Stark's kid. He still has May and all his high school friends. I won't stop him if he wants to go back."

"We're still going to protect him while he's here, though, right?"

"Of course," Parker turned around in Wade's arms and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm going on patrol."

"No, you're not." Wade frowned and tugged Parker into the bedroom, "we have a big day tomorrow. We both need rest."

* * *

  
"Where to, Mr. Parker?" FRIDAY's voice chimed when Parker sat down in the pilot's chair of a Quinjet. She pulled up a holographic map for Parker to point to. He enlarged an area in the rocky mountains with two fingers. "Good choice." FRIDAY took the map away.

"So you have FRIDAY on this planet too?" Tony smiled at the ceiling. "Good choice in AI."

"The AI's name is SUNDAY." Steve corrected him.

Tony frowned, "of course it is. What's he want?" Parker had turned the chair to face them and was waving his hands around, "I don't know sign language."

"He's telling us to take a seat. We're about to take off," Steve interpreted. "We'll be there in three hours, and-" Steve sent his son a disapproving look, "I'm not repeating that."

Parker made the motion again.

"I will!" Deadpool said cheerfully throwing both hands in the air, "he said-"

"WILSON. THERE IS A CHILD IN THE ROOM." Steve clapped his hands over Peter's ears.

"Not a child," Peter grumbled, pulling away from the Captain. Once they were in the air, Wade leaned over and whispered what Parker had said in his ear.

"Oh..." Peter blushed under his mask.

As they drew closer to their destination, the lights in the jet started to flicker. One of the holographic screens up front went out. "That's not good..." Tony went over to see what the problem was. The jet suddenly lurched to the side, causing Tony to lose his balance and hit the wall. "OOF! Watch it!"

"That wasn't me!" Parker defended himself. "I can't move the wheel!" All the screens on the aircraft switched from their usual soft blue to a bright angry crimson.

The holographic screen next to the pilot's chair flickered, the maps on it being replaced with an all too familiar face smiling at them.

"Stark," Steve hissed.

"Hello, my dear. You really should ask permission before you borrow my things," Stark sneered, making the jet take a sharp right and throwing everyone to the floor.

Tony struggled to his feet and threw himself at the pilot's chair. "Parker! Move! I can override his commands!" Parker reluctantly got out of the seat, Tony taking his place right as Stark made the jet take a sudden dive. Tony frantically punched commands into the screens in front of him. The ground was quickly coming up to meet them.

"Petey, you shoulda kept that suit I made for you. That parachute would've been really handy right about...now." One of the wings exploded, sending the jet spiraling out of control. The screens in front of Tony flashed red. Tony cursed but kept trying to get the jet back under control. "Let's see...what else can we mess with?" Stark was looking at something off camera, his arm moving up to press something on whatever screen he was looking at. The ramp whirred as it was lowered behind them. Stark pushed another button, shattering the windshield.

"FUCK!" Deadpool screamed as the wind yanked him out of the jet. Parker screamed out of sheer panic. Sure, Deadpool would die from the fall, but he would also get up and walk away after his healing factor kicked in. Parker knew he would 'survive' but watching his boyfriend free falling from several thousand feet in the air was not a pleasant experience.

"STARK! YOU'LL KILL US ALL!!" Steve roared, struggling to hold onto one of the chairs.

"That's the plan, Steven." The screens up front were now completely useless. The holographic one with Stark's image was still operational. "Hope you enjoyed your flight! Please return your trays to their upright position and take all your trash with you." The hologram disappeared.

"This is the second time this year that I've been in a plane crash..." Peter moaned. He had a strong grip on the wall, but his feet flailed uselessly behind him.

"We won't crash!" Tony snapped.

"We won't land softly, either!" Peter protested.

"Shut up and let me do my job!" Tony yelled, pulling back on the wheel as hard as he could with one hand and flipping switches with the other. The jet rocked with another explosion. There goes the remaining wing. The explosion ripped apart the side of the plane. Steve nearly lost his grip but was able to keep one hand on the chair.

"PETER!!" Steve screamed in horror.

Tony looked over his shoulder at the spot where Peter had been. There was a gaping hole in the wall, smoke and sparks pouring out of the area. "No..." Tony's chest tightened. He felt like he had been stabbed right through the heart. "God, no..."

"TONY! THE JET!" Steve reminded him over the roar of the wind. Tony forced himself to turn his attention back to the task at hand. There were still two other people on this plain besides himself. They were going to make it to the ground safely, no matter what. Tony let out a scream as he pulled back on the wheel with all his might. At the last second, Tony was able to pull the jet up. They crashed into the side of a mountain and tumbled down the snowy mountain face. "Ow..." Tony groaned when they finally rolled to a stop. "Everyone breathing?"

"For now," Steve gasped, clutching his chest. Parker just grunted.

"Guys?" The radio crackled.

Parker let out a heavy sigh at the sound of Deadpool's voice. He rolled over and punched the talk button, "we're alive. You?"

"In pieces. Give me an hour to sort myself out," Deadpool reported.

"We don't have an hour. We need to find cover before Stark figures out we're alive." Steve grunted, struggling to his knees.

"Peter," Tony whispered. Parker looked over at Tony, surprised by the look of pure anguish on his face. "Did you see Peter? Did he...oh god...he fell..." A lump had formed in the back of Tony's throat, making it difficult to breathe without sobbing. What was he supposed to tell aunt May? He was supposed to protect the kid. His kid. And he let him fall.

"He's fine." Deadpool's answer was like music to his ears. "He made a parachute out of his webs. I don't know where he landed, but I think there's a good chance he landed in one piece. My leg's almost done regrowing. Give me a few minutes and I'll go look for him."

"Oh thank god..." Tony's legs gave out and he fell to his hands and knees. Peter was alive. And they where going to find him. Everything would be alright. Tony took a deep breath, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit..." Peter raced across a roof. He had landed on a roof in a nearby town. The jet had crashed somewhere in the mountains, miles away from where he had landed. A pillar of smoke rose up out of the mountains. "Karen?" He asked again, even though there was no point. Karen had been silent even since he arrived in this new world. He really missed her voice right about now. Peter jumped off the roof, using a web to break his fall. "Mr. Stark?" He called, looking around the deserted street. Peter smacked himself. Tony wouldn't be able to hear him from here. Idiot. "Welp, Karen. Looks like we're walking."

"Peter!" A familiar voice cried. Peter looked up to see Tony flying towards him in full Iron Man armor. "Jesus Christ, kid. You scared the shit outta me." Iron Man landed with a thud in front of Peter. He stepped out of the armor and wrapped Peter in a tight hug, "I'm so sorry. I should've had the armor on standby. Just in case-"

Peter shrugged, "that's okay. You couldn't have known this would happen. I saw Wade fall, too...is he?"

"Alive? Yes. A fall like that won't keep him down for long. He has a pretty serious healing factor," Iron Man assured him. "C'mon, let's get back to the others. Thankfully everyone survived, but we need to get somewhere safe." Tony grabbed him by the upper arm, roughly guiding him down the street. The Iron Man armor followed close behind them, its emotionless blue eyes trained on Peter.

Peter looked up at him in confusion. "Why are we walking? Wouldn't it be faster if you got in the suit and flew up-" He froze, having just now noticed the faint blue glow coming from beneath Tony's shirt. "You're not Mr. Stark..." Tony stopped walking, his expression darkening. Peter tried to pull away but Tony now had a secure grip on his upper arm.

"I am Mr. Stark. Just not the one you know." Stark growled. "And you're not my Peter...but you'll do just fine."

Peter yanked his arm free and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. The Iron Man armor blasted him in the back. Peter screamed at the white hot pain that engulfed his upper back. He fell to the ground, lungs heaving for air. He felt like his back was on fire. It could be for all he knew. Something wet and equally warm was seeping across his shoulders and dripping down his lower back. Peter shivered. He hated blood. Hated the feeling of it on his skin. He gasped sharply when something kicked him in the side and flipped him onto his back. The dirty asphalt was not kind to his new injury. Darkness danced around the edges of his vision. The last thing he saw was Tony Stark towering over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	3. Hi, Mr. Stark!

Iron Mam blasted through the village, not caring who or what he knocked over in the process. Karen might not be working, but the tracker in Peter's suit definitely was. Peter's vitals were displayed on one of the screens in Tony's HUD. A tiny image of Spider-man was shown next to the charts. Its entire body was shown in blue, except for its upper back, which flashed red. The hand and forearm started flashing. The holographic image wasn't very descriptive. The injury could be a broken bone, or the kid could have just fallen and bruised his arm. Either way, Peter's pain meter skyrocketed.

"Hang on, buddy. I'm coming."

The tracker in Peter's suit was leading him right to the very place Tony didn't want Peter to be. The evil Stark's hideout. Or at least, the area he assumed it was in. Tony had his own secret lab in this same village back on his home world. No one knew about it but FRIDAY. He rarely used it, but it did house quite a bit of Stark tech that he didn't use on a regular basis. The fact that Stark had blasted them out of the sky when they had gotten too close to the hideout confirmed that it did indeed exist on this world.

Iron Man made a sharp turn into an alley and landed in front of a brick wall. "Open." He commanded. With an ugly crunching noise, the bricks shifted, revealing a hidden passageway. In the back of his mind, Tony knew that this was too easy. Now wasn't the time to think about that, though. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He enlarged the map on his HUD. The red dot symbolizing the tracker was only a few hundred feet away. "Either the kid found the hideout, or Stark found the kid." He reported through the comms. "I'm going in."

"No. Remain on standby until we get there," Steve commanded. "You can't take on Stark by yourself."

Tony walked in any way, "what, you don't think I can win a fight against myself?"

"Tony. Trust me. You're going to want the backup." Deadpool spoke this time, his voice uncharacteristically serious.

"Then you better get your asses in gear. I'm closing in on Peter's signal. No sign of other me, yet." The tiny lights along the floor flickered to life as Tony made his way down the hall. The color of the lights was different, but everything else in the hide out was exactly as he remembered it. Tony took a deep breath to steady himself, uncomfortable with how alike he and his evil twin really were. He prayed that their similarities stopped at their taste in decor.

A scream split through the air.

"Peter!!" Tony rocketed towards the scream, smashing through walls and doors. All of Peter's vitals suddenly went blank. Tony flew faster.

* * *

  
**Two Years Ago**

_"I think I love you," Deadpool said softly, looking over at Spider-man. The other man was clad in his black suit, sitting cross legged on the edge of the roof, lenses focused on the busy street below. It was late at night, yet New York was still wide awake. Bright lights from below illuminated the front of both men, casting long shadows behind them. Spider-man slowly turned his head towards Deadpool. They stared at one another in silence for a long time before Deadpool spoke again. "No, I don't think. I know. I know that I love you."_

_'Really?' Spider-man asked with the use of sign language. The merc was still learning sign language but understood that one word. Peter hadn't spoken to anyone since the incident. Not even Steve. Deadpool had only met Spider-man officially a few months ago and was unaware of the fact that he didn't have a tongue. He just assumed his friend was mute._

_"Really," Deadpool confirmed. "I know we haven't known each other very long...but I do love you. A lot. Plus, you're really cute..." He looked away, hiding a blush that was already hidden by his mask._

_Spider-man stared at him, his lenses enlarging. "I love you, too." The words were barely audible, the sounds not quite right. But the message was clear._

_Deadpool's head whipped back around. "Did you just...speak?!"_

_Spider-man nodded once._

_"You can talk? All this time, you could talk?" Deadpool leaned close to the arachnid. Spider-man wished he could see the expression on his face, wished he could know what the other man was feeling._

_Another nod._

_"Why...why haven't you?"_

_Spider-man looked away. "Talking's Hard." Far below them, a car honked. Someone yelled a string of curse words._

_"I can tell," Deadpool brushed his hand over Peter's cheek. "You have a nice voice."_

_"Liar."_

_"Am not," Deadpool stuck out his tongue, distorting his mask. "You do have a nice voice. Not as nice as that ass-"_

_"Wade!" Spider-man gasped._

_Deadpool snickered._

* * *

  
**NOW**

"I'm fine, Petey. Really," Wade kissed the top of Parker's head. His boyfriend had been fretting over him ever since they reunited. "See? All in one piece!" Deadpool motioned to his body proudly.

'You fell off a plane!' He signed frantically.

"Happens," Deadpool shrugged it off. "Hey! Hey! Watch the super strength!" He gasped when Spider-man trapped him in a bone crushing hug. He pat the other man's back until he reluctantly loosened his grip. "We should probably go help Iron Dick."

Peter's screams abruptly cut through their comms, loud enough to be picked up by Tony's mic. Parker and Wade ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Oh no..." Deadpool breathed out once they reached the hideout. The scene before them was not a pleasant one. Parker just nodded, eyes trained on the dark crimson liquid splattered across the wall. What little furniture there was in the room had been knocked over or broken. Bits of machinery and tools littered the floor. Some of the tools must have been used at weapons because they were speckled with blood.

Tony held Peter's tracker in his palm. The tiny square with frayed wires being the only thing left of the web slinger. Tony had arrived too late. There was no sign of the kid. The tracker had been found discarded in the corner.

"It's not that much blood," Deadpool pointed out. "Easily something that Spider-man could walk off." He chose not to look at the power drill that was coated in the same red liquid.

"Depends on what wound caused it," Steve countered, examining the splatter closely.

"You're not helping," Deadpool put his hands on his hips. "Are we sure it's even the kid's blood?"

"No. But who else could it be? We all heard Peter scream," Steve shrugged. "And that's his tracker..."

"Could be a recording of Parker. Back from...you know..." Deadpool trailed off, glancing back at Parker, who was as silent as ever.

Steve straightened up, "could be. Why fake a scream, though?"

"Make a distraction," Deadpool said as if it were obvious. "So that he could sneak out the back door with the kid." Steve made a huffing noise, obviously doubting Deadpool's theory. The screams were just as real as the blood, he knew they were. "So, Tony." The merc turned towards said man. "You're on the run. Hide out number one is a bust. Where to next?"

Tony traced the tracker with a metal finger, deep in thought. "I would go back to New York. Or Malibu. Hide in plain sight."

"Malibu?" Steve cocked an eyebrow. "Why there?"

"It's where I used to live. Before I moved in with the Avengers. I still own the property," Tony explained, not taking his eyes off the tracker.

"Our Stark never lived in Malibu. He's always been in New York. So, back to the big apple, it is," Steve decided, putting two fingers to the comm in his ears. "Natasha? Would you be a dear and pick us up?"

* * *

  
**Five Years Ago**

_"We're going to save a lot of lives, Peter." Tony smiled proudly at his son._

_"No. You're going to save a lot of lives. By destroying mine," Peter spat. The teen was currently strapped to one of the work benches in their shared lab. He was still in a bit of a daze about the situation but was pretty sure his father had drugged him, knocking him out long enough to tie him down. His head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls._

_Tony frowned, "I'm not destroying it. I'm improving it."_

_Peter pulled at his restraints, "I'm not broken! Let me go!"_

_Tony just shook his head. He moved over to another table, messing with something Peter couldn't see. "We'll go slow. Don't worry, Petey, I won't hurt you."_

_"I think drugging me and replacing body parts with machinery is the definition of hurting someone. But that's just my opinion," Peter said, earning a sharp look from his father._

_"I needed someone to test these on. Don't get all pissy at me."_

_"Then test them on your damn self!" Peter yelled._

_"I would. But I need to be able to properly record the data," Tony explained, calmly walking back over to Peter. "Now. Where would you like to start? Limbs or organs? I was thinking limbs."_

_Peter paled, panic seizing his heart, "y-you can't be serious. T-this is all just some elaborate joke, right, dad? If you wanted to scare me into doing my homework, then it's working."_

_"I am serious. This is more important than algebra homework, Petey. Now. Answer my question. Limbs or organs?"_

_"Go. To. Hell." Peter snarled, masking his fear with anger._

_"Don't speak to me like that, young man."_

_"I'll speak however I damn well please! Let me go, you fucking bastard!"_

_Tony's expression darkened. "Maybe I ought to fix that mouth of yours first." He took a scalpel off the table and grabbed Peter's jaw, forcing him to open it._

_Peter's anger was replaced by fear, his eyes going wide and hot tears streaming down his face. "No, please, please, dad, don't!"_

_Tony placed the blade against the back of Peter's tongue. Peter was in pure panic mode at this point, his body shaking uncontrollably. Tony applied pressure to the knife._

_Peter **screamed**._

_His cries could be heard from outside the lab, but by the time the Avengers were able to get the doors open, the damage had already been done._

_"Tony...oh god...what have you done?" The color drained from Steve's face. His step son was tied to the table, blood still dripped out of his mouth, covering his face and neck, and pooling up around his head. Peter's left leg looked like it had been dissected, with bits of wire sticking out of the wounds. A choked, gurgling noise escaped Peter's lips. He shifted his head to the side, trying to get air into his lungs. Peter was now looking directly at Steve, his eyes full of more pain than anyone his age should ever experience. He tried to say something, but his mouth wouldn't cooperate._

_"Fixed that mouth of his. No more jokes or smart ass comments." Tony reported, "now get out of here and let me finish my work."_

_That was when all hell broke loose. It didn't matter that Tony was Steve's husband, or that the engineer was the Avengers' beloved leader. Or that before today, Tony would have never raised a hand against his son. None of that mattered now. What mattered is that he experimented on Peter. Hurt him bad. And Stark was going to pay._

_Unfortunately, Tony had the upper hand, being in his own lab with hundreds of machines that were on his side. The machines and Iron Man armors held back the Avengers while Stark jumped into his main suit and blasted out the window._

"Petey? You with me, baby boy?"

Parker was shaken out of the memory by a pair of strong hands on his shoulders. Deadpool's concerned face hovered inches from his own. Parker nodded, gently pushing Wade's hands away. The group had returned to the tower, as Tony had instructed them to do. And now they were all down in the lab. Tony had asked to have a look at their Stark's lab. He was confident that there would be something in there that would tell him where Stark was hiding. The entire Avengers team was present in the lab, not trusting Tony alone in such an environment. Steve hovered close behind Tony, barely giving him any room to breathe.

"Calm down, I'm on your side, remember? Kinda the whole point of me being here..." Tony huffed, making a shooing motion with his hand. Steve gave him an unreadable look, yet took a few steps back.

"Do you want to leave?" Deadpool asked. Parker hadn't been in the lab since the incident. SHIELD had confiscated most of the objects in the lab, including the work bench Parker had been tied to. A dark stain on the floor marked where the bench had been.

Parker shook his head.

"Okay...let me know if you change your mind." Deadpool slipped his hand into Parker's, giving it a loving squeeze. They both looked over at Tony, who stood in the middle of the lab. Multiple holograms surrounded the engineer. His hands moving wildly as he sifted through the files.

Parker's head suddenly snapped towards the window. Spidey sense. Something was hurtling across the sky. Directly at the tower. "GET DOWN!!" Parker screamed, grabbing Wade and diving under a table.

**_CRASH_ **

The window shattered, sending tiny glass shards raining down on the room. Something hit the table with a heavy thud. No one moved, expecting whatever had just landed to explode. But it didn't. Tony slowly looked up from the chair he had dived behind. "What the hell, kid?"

"Hi, Mr. Stark," Peter waved weakly. "Goodnight," he passed out right then and there, on top of the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed! Your comments keep me writing!


	4. The Reason

"Dear God..." Steve breathed out. Everyone was now gathered around the table Peter had fallen on. "He needs medical attention! Bruce!" Crimson covered the side of Peter's mask, staining one of his lenses. His arm looked badly broken, his hand possibly mangled underneath the glove.

"On it! Bring him to my lab, I'll get everything set up!" Doctor Banner hurried out of the room.

Tony made a move to pick up Peter but Steve was already slipping an arm around Peter's shoulders. "I'll do it-"

"Get the fuck away from my kid, Rogers." Tony snarled. He was still on pretty shaky terms with the Captain America he knew. Sure, this Steve could be trusted, but Tony chose to ignore that fact. He didn't want anyone touching his kid.

Steve's glare bored into the shorter man. "You said he wasn't your son."

Tony glared right back at him, "he's not. Doesn't mean I can't care about him like one of my own."

Natasha put a hand on Steve's arm, gently pulling it away from the injured teen, "Steve, let him." Steve huffed but stepped away. Tony slipped one arm under Peter's back, the other behind his knees. He felt warm liquid on Peter's back, along with the bare, burnt flesh. He moved his arm up to Peter's shoulders, not wanting to aggravate the wound.

"Careful," Steve breathed out, eyeing the blood that covered Peter's mask. Whatever the wound was, it was still bleeding. Fresh liquid dripped onto the table. Tony just nodded and carefully lifted Peter up. He had never held the kid before and was a little shocked by how light the boy was. Was that healthy? He was a pretty skinny kid, but surely he had to weigh more than that? Tony carried him to Bruce's lab, laying him on his side so that Bruce could treat his back first. They had to remove the top part of the Spider-man costume in order to treat him. Bruce made everyone but Tony leave the room, needing space to treat Peter. Thankfully, Peter's healing factor had already taken care of the worst of it. Banner disinfected the wound and wrapped bandages around his torso before turning him onto his back. The head wound thankfully wasn't too bad, either. It had bled a lot, but it wasn't too deep. Just a simple gash along his temple.

Tony carefully tugged Peter's glove off his mangled hand. The sight of it made him want to throw up.

"Fuck," Wade whispered. Parker had returned to the lab, and where Parker went, Wade followed.

Peter's hand wasn't badly broken like Tony had assumed. It was gone. Cut off at the wrist and replaced by a robotic appendage. There was no casing on the hand, so Tony could see all of the wiring and mechanical bits that made it. Some of the wires traveled up his arm, embedded in Peter's flesh. They were most likely attached to his nerves. Parker also felt like he was going to be sick. He brushed a hand over his thigh. His costume hid the mangled scars that covered his leg, left over from when his own father had tried to replace it with a robotic limb. Both he and Tony closely examined the hand, trying to decide if they should remove it or not.

"Mr. Stark?" Peter's eyes fluttered open.

"Right here, Peter." Tony squeezed his remaining hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Need water," Peter's voice cracked. Parker quickly retrieved a glass of water and helped Peter sit up. Peter took the cup in his own hands, his metal fingers clinking against the glass.

"How are you feeling?" Tony whispered.

"Pretty good, all things considered," Peter smiled at his mentor.

Tony frowned. "Liar."

Peter's smile faltered, "I'm fine, Mr. Stark. Really."

Tony grabbed his severed wrist, yanking it up so everyone could clearly see the robotic hand, "what part of this is fine?!"

Peter hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"It's my fault. I thought the other Stark was you so I went with him and then I couldn't get away fast enough-" Peter was stumbling over his words, "-and I woke up and my hand was gone and I-I...I ran but I couldn't-couldn't-" Peter was starting to hyperventilate. "He-I...he..."

"Breath. Just breathe, kid." Tony soothed, letting go of Peter's wrist so he could hug him. Peter took in a deep, shaky breath. "You can cry. It's okay."

"No!" Peter refused to let the tears fall.

"Breath," Tony reminded him, pulling away slightly. He then spoke to Bruce, "he needs to go back home. He's not safe here."

"No," Bruce refused. "He stays here until the mission is finished."

"He's not a part of this," Tony reminded him. "He wasn't supposed to be here in the first place."

"Actually, I lied about Peter not being a part of this mission. I left the orb that contained the portal, for him to find. Him. Not you. You were the one who tagged along unexpectedly. I had to tell the team that it was the other way around so that they wouldn't kill you." Bruce explained. "However, you have proved to be quite useful, Tony."

Without warning, Tony stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Peter flinched. He averted his gaze to sheets balled up in his remaining hand.

"He's not mad," Wade assured him. "Well, he is mad. Just not at you."

"I should go make sure he doesn't do anything dramatic," Bruce went after Tony. Parker and Wade quickly hurried after them when they heard yelling from the hallway.

"He's just a kid!" Peter heard Tony holler. "You didn't even tell him the truth about the other Tony until it was too late!"

"Tony, please-"

"Don't Tony me, Bruce! Send him home!" Tony ordered once more.

"Not until he defeats our Stark-"

"You want him to fight Iron Man? He's fifteen! He'll die, Bruce! As his guardian, I will not allow him to continue this mission. We're going home. Right. Now."

"Sometimes, we have to make sacrifices-"

"He's just a kid!" Wade yelled, taking Tony's side without hesitating.

"You don't get to choose who lives and who dies!" Tony snarled at Bruce.

"No one wants Peter to die," Bruce said a bit softer. "But he's our best shot at taking down Iron Man. He can get close to him in a way that none of us can."

Peter pressed himself back against the pillows, wishing the plush fabric would swallow him whole. He didn't want to go anywhere near the evil Stark. The voices steadily died down. Footsteps faded away in opposite directions.

Peter covered his eyes. The white lights in the room were much too bright. And it was much too quiet. Usually, Peter would have welcomed the quiet. But not now. Not when he felt so alone. Right now he felt more alone than he had when the Vulture had dropped that building on him. Tony wouldn't be coming back to comfort him anytime soon. No one would. Everyone was pissed off for their own reasons. Peter pulled his knees up to his chest. He wanted to go home. He wanted to see his aunt. That want would remain unfilled for quite awhile.

Peter watched the minutes tick by on the wall clock. He glanced over at the door, hoping that of all people, Parker would come back. He seemed to really care about Peter, for some reason. As did Wade. Was there a Deadpool on his home world? If there was, Peter wanted to meet him.

The minutes turned into hours. Peter noticed that the outlets on the wall were different in this world. It was such a small detail, and yet it sent him into a fit of sobs. He shouldn't be here. This wasn't his fight, no matter how much the Avengers believed that. He hid his face in his knees, oblivious to the door opening.

"Hey, how's the kid holding up?" A brief pause, followed by a very loud, "Jesus Christ!", making Peter flinch. "Has no one been back to check on you?!" The rage in the voice forced Peter to look up. Wade was now standing right next to him. His mask was off, with a look of concern on his scarred face.

"N-no?" Peter choked out.

"Those fuckers..." Wade took a seat in the chair next to the bed. "Can't just leave a fucking fifteen-year-old, fucking traumatized kid, fucking, fuck," Wade muttered under his breath. "I get that Parker is busy dealing with Bruce, but we have what, twenty Avengers, now? Fuck. What about Tony? Did he ever come back?"

Peter shook his head.

"Jesus..." Wade let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, Petey." Deadpool reached out and carded a hand through the boy's hair. Peter visibly tensed. "Not gonna hurt you. Hey, stop crying, you're okay. You're okay..." Wade moved to the bed so he could hold the sobbing boy in his arms. "Shh...just try to get some rest, okay Petey?"

"Are you gonna stay with me?" Peter asked, voice quiet.

Deadpool nodded, "of course." The door opened again, and another man entered the room. Peter looked up through watery eyes, barely able to make out Parker's face.

"Pain?" Parker whispered. "I can get morphine-"

Peter shook his head quickly.

"Kid's just lonely. No one's been by to check on him in almost five hours."

Parker's expression hardened. He would have some words with his team later. As well as Tony Stark. But that could wait. He sat down on the other side of Peter and slipped an arm around his shoulders.

When Tony did finally return to Peter's room, he found the kid asleep in Deadpool's arms. The poor kid still had tears running down his cheeks. The Merc was also asleep, snoring loudly. Parker still sat next to him, petting Peter's hair absentmindedly.

"He okay?" Tony whispered.

"No thanks to you," Parker hissed.

"What can I do to help?"

"How about next time he loses a hand, you don't leave him to deal with it alone," Parker snapped, his anger making his already garbled words even harder to understand. But Tony got the message. He pulled a chair up to the bed, not planning on leaving Peter's side anytime soon.

* * *

  
**Two Days Later**

"I'm fine, really!" Peter gave them a big smile. They were in Parker's workshop. Peter had his injured arm laid out on the table, allowing Parker to tinker with it. In the past hour, the older Spider-man had turned it into something that resembled more of an actual prosthetic.

"Kid. You don't have to be fine. You shouldn't be." Tony sighed.

"I've had worse."

"No, you haven't." Tony snapped. "And I don't want to hear about crashing the plane on Coney Island. Or the Vulture dropping a building on you. This is way above that." Peter shuffled around awkwardly, stuffing his free hand in his pocket.

"I think this is all I can do for now," Parker announced.

Peter nodded and slipped a black glove over the prosthetic. Wade had given him the glove when he noticed how self-conscious Peter was about his hand. "Thanks," he whispered. Tony opened his mouth but Peter spoke first, "ask how I'm doing one more time and I will punch you."

"Whatever, Luke Skywalker." Tony huffed, looking away.

"What? Oh." Peter looked down at the black glove. "Always wanted to be a Jedi..." He laughed. Parker made a sound that might have been a chuckle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! :D
> 
> Let me know if you enjoyed! Your comments keep me writing!


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